“Try to call them,” Damiano said. “See who answers.”

Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

His fingers tapped the screen quickly.

He held the phone to his ear, his eyes darting around the corridor.

After a few seconds, he slowly lowered the phone.

“You think you can just erase me?” Marcus whispered.

“I am going to dismantle every piece of your life,” Damiano said. “Every dock, every warehouse, every contact.”

He looked back at me, his eyes softening slightly.

“It is the only way to tear down what I helped create,” Damiano said. “It is my atonement.”

“I don’t want your atonement,” I said. “I wanted to be safe.”

“You will be,” Damiano said. “When he has nothing left.”

Marcus stared at Damiano, his lips drawn back in a snarl.

“You won’t survive this, Ricci,” Marcus said. “You think you’re the only one with friends in this city?”

He turned on his heel and walked quickly down the corridor.

His leather shoes clicked sharply against the marble until he disappeared into the main hall.

Damiano did not follow him.